October 2015 archive

Recently, the Health Organizations and fitness enthusiasts are in hype about this important health news. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has officially released the result of their epidemiological studyon Red and Processed meats. After conducting a series of experiments and thorough research about this subject, the World Health Organization categorized the risks of consuming red meats and processed meats to be the same with the risks of smoking and asbestos.

The red meat was categorized into Group 2a which means that red meat are “probably carcinogenic to humans”. There is a limited evidence that its consumption contributes to colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer. While the processed meats was categorized into Group 1, which means “carcinogenic to humans”. Processed meats contributes to colorectal cancer. Experts concluded that an average of 50 gram daily consumption of processed meats increases our risk in colorectal cancer up to 18%. Aside from this, processed meats contains nitrites and nitrates. These chemicals are toxic as our body converts these chemicals into carcinogens, which increases our risks on acquiring cancer diseases.

After this study was made public, the Whole Foods Market started to recall their bacon, hotdogs and among red meat products in response to this pressing issue. The U.S. Residents, however, are not surprised with this study. United States is long known for our campaign against the use of chemicals, pesticides and GMO foods, and the promotion for organic farming.

The Community’s Stand:

As a community that is known for living a healthy, conscious life, this news doesn’t really surprised us at all. As dieters, we’ve learned how to be picky with our foods and double check the ingredients of the items we’re buying. We choose to consume the cleanest food options as much as possible. This study only gives us more reason to quit GMOproducts and instead promote organic living. How about you? What is your opinion upon hearing the news? Share your thoughts with us through the comment section.

One of the most important issues we’re dealing while we’re in the fast metabolism diet, or any other diet programs, is hunger management. Even though we’re eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, there are some who find themselves still getting hungry easily. The tendency is whenever we’re hungry, we are tempted to just grab the foods next to us which could be unhealthy. Situations like this can surely impede our weight loss journey.

What could be the reason behind this? Why do we find ourselves getting hungry easily and craving for something else when we’re already feeding our body with the healthy foods it needs?

In this section, we will address the factors behind this underlying issue and provide tips for a proper hunger management.

It’s All In Your Head

Do you have that one moment where you are watching a TV show with actors and actresses enjoying that delectable, mouthwatering burgers and fries and suddenly you found yourself salivating and want to indulge to these foods? In moments like this, you are not really experiencing some physical hunger. It’s just your mind playing tricks on you and triggering your cravings. In this situation, it is very helpful to know the difference between your actual, physical needs vs. psychological needs.

Tip: The great way to deal with this is to divert your attention away from food. We encourage engaging with physical, productive activities like jogging, walking, outdoor activities, or even reading a book. Instead of watching TV where the craving temptation on unhealthy foods is at its peak, practice doing the other activities and hobbies you love that doesn’t involve foods.

Filling Up

Before you give in to binge eating in order to physically sate your hunger, try to have a glass of water first, it will make you feel fuller. Often times we confused physical hunger with thirst. Staying hydrated is important so that our brain and body can function properly. Drink water before your meal, or if you’re feeling hungry and wait for another 10 minutes to see if you’re still feeling hungry or not.

Eat More Veggies

If you are still feeling hungry after doing the first two tips above, then it’s time for you to fill up real food in your body. Eat phase-specific veggies. You can make a salad or dressing out of it. And remember, it is completely fine to eat lots of veggies! There’s no limit to it, and you can eat it anytime you want! So go ahead and fill that tummy with the yummy goodness of your veggies.

Go with Nuts and Seeds

Hungry on phase 3? Well you have a good option, you can go with nuts and seeds as they are healthy fats. They contain special nutrients that signals your tummy that you are already full. It gives you a nice, relaxing and satisfied feeling after your meal.

Before you give in to binge eating and unhealthy cravings, it is important to identify the reason behind your hunger. We hope these tips we shared will help you handle your hunger management and stay on track on the fast metabolism diet program.

Ding, dong! Now that the Halloween season is fast approaching, I bet your kids are pretty excited for the event and by now preparing their treats and Halloween costumes for the upcoming Trick or Treat Party. Halloween season is the favorite season of most kids as they get the chance to indulge themselves with unlimited candies and sweet pastries. A lot of pretzels, apples, pumpkins are coated with thick layer of caramel and chocolates will be present on the table and as a health conscious individual, we couldn’t help but be anxious for our children’s well being.

To help you navigate through the holiday with ease, we compiled these healthy Halloween tips for you and your children to recover your curb from sweet tooth and Halloween candy hangover.

Eat Healthy Food before Trick or Treat Party

It is recommended that before your kids attend the trick or treat party, they should be full already with healthy foods. Serve your kids a healthy dinner packed with lots of protein, fruits, fibers and veggies. If the Halloween party falls on your Phase 1, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to serve high glycemic fruits. High glycemic fruits such as pineapples, mangoes, watermelons keeps your sugar cravings sated. If their sugar craving is already stable, they are less likely to indulge themselves in candies and other sweet pastries served on the table.

Hand Out non-sugary foods or Cook For Them!

Instead of packing sweet treats, go for healthier options like fruits, veggies, mini rice cereal, nuts and almonds, mini pops popcorn or turkey jerky! If not, cook for them a healthy Halloween snack recipes they can enjoy and indulge themselves to something sweet. The trick here is to design and assemble these foods into funny, cool and spooky shapes, they are more likely to consume it.

Stay Active

Encourage more activities and body coordination with your kids while they are in the party. A quick walk from house to house, or a little body movement such as dancing will help your kids burn the sugar they take and convert it to energy instead of depositing it as fats.

Practice Portion Control

If possible, remind your children that although they can eat the treats served on the table, they should have a limit of how much they are allowed to eat. Explain and make them understand that they can take a nibble on their most favorite sweet treats while discarding the rest. Another trick is cutting the portion sizes into smaller ones. Instead of taking one large chocolate bar, it can be cut into smaller pieces and they can have a taste of all those candies and sweets.

Applying these tips will let your kids enjoy the Trick and Treat party without worrying about health and well-being. Let your children participate in your healthy lifestyle activities for them to be conscious about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and in no time, they will take the initiative themselves in choosing their food wisely. Check our fast metabolism diet Halloween recipes for trick and treats snack ideas. The community wishes everyone to have a wonderful Halloween!

Witches Brooms Roll Ups is a perfect snack for those who wanted to balance out their sugar intake. This recipe is packed with healthy zucchini strips, turkey bacon and almond cheese as healthy fats, a healthier alternative snack this Halloween season. Have a healthy, holiday cooking session everyone!

Ingredients

Preparation

Trim ends of zucchini and discard. Using a vegetable peeler, slice zucchini lengthwise into 16 paper-thin slices; place in a single layer on a work surface. (Discard first slice of peel and seedy center.) Wrap and chill remaining zucchini for another use.

Sprinkle zucchini slices with pepper. Lay a turkey bacon strips in center of a zucchini slice and top with a cheese strip. Starting at one end of zucchini strip, roll it into a tight spiral; secure with a toothpick. Repeat on other rolls.

Instructions

With food processor running, drop in the garlic cloves and process until finely chopped. Add the black beans, and process until pureed. Add the remaining ingredients (use the lesser amounts) and process until smooth. Taste and correct seasonings, adding more as needed.

Spoon the hummus into a serving dish, smoothing the top. Using a pastry bag or thinned tahini, pipe on the design. Place a plastic spider into the web, or make one yourself from black olives. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If the Halloween season falls on your Phase 1, this is a perfect opportunity for you and your kids to indulge to these Halloween Apple bites! A healthy and fruity zombie snack for your kids, super easy and fun to prepare too!

Featuring a quick, easy and delectable appetizer this Halloween season, Sweet Potato Chips with Black Olives would bring a spooky feel in your kitchen but guaranteed to add fun! This appetizer is only made with 5 main, simple ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

1 cup pitted black olives

3 scallions

Pinch of Stevia

Nonstick cooking spray

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F and spray two large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Slice the sweet potatoes thinly and lay out pieces in a single layer on the sheets.

Using a silicone brush, coat each slice of sweet potato with olive oil (you’ll use about 1 tablespoon). Season with salt and pepper and bake for 10-12 minutes per side or until golden (keep an eye on them to prevent burning).

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

To prepare the tapenade, place olives, scallions, stevia and remaining oil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and pulse until well combined, but still slightly chunky.

This Halloween, we are to introduce a healthy version of easy-pizza. The kids will find this Toasted Mummy awesome and delightful with its unique presentation! Most of all, this toasted mummy is packed with healthy goodies such as strips of non-dairy cheese, tomato sauce and sprouted grain bread.

Let your kids have a taste of adventure with this choco goodness and sweetness without worrying about their health and well-being. This delicious super-moist Chocolate Spiderweb Cupcakes are made grain-free and dairy free. A perfect, healthier option to enjoy chocolates this Halloween!

Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Frosting:

Directions

In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add this to the wet ingredients. Stir in just until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour evenly into the muffin liners. If you want to make spiderwebs like designs, you need to be careful not to put too much batter in the liners because it’ll be more difficult if you have a slightly domed cupcake. The chocolate liners in this recipe were a little less than ⅔ full.

Bake for 16 minutes. For the frosting, melt the coconut oil, almond butter and cocoa powder together in a pot or pan over low heat. When it’s completely melted and smooth, take it off the heat and add the stevia and stir until well combined. Let the cupcakes and frosting cool completely before icing.

One of the most common issues we encounter in the fast metabolism diet is weight plateau. Although, we have valuable tips on how to beat weight plateau, there are still some of our challenged dieters whose weight wouldn’t budge even though they’ve tried almost everything. No matter how many times they try to mix up their diet and exercise, it’s not working anymore. What could be the reason behind it? Let’s find it out here:

There are many factors as to why we’re hitting a weight plateau. Years of chronic dieting and unhealthy lifestyle is the top reason behind it. Aside from that, our body is highly adaptable to the changes so after a few weeks of doing our routine, our body get used to it. That’s why mixing up our routine was recommended to confuse our metabolism. Specific conditions like Inflammation, Digestive Issues, and Hormonal imbalance was addressed in The Burn. In this blog post, we will tackle another factor that contributes to weight plateau, your water weight.

The weight gain you see on the scale doesn’t necessarily mean you gained fats, but it has something to do with water retention. Water retention is a condition where your body holds those extra fluids in your cells. This in turn causes your weight to increase on the scale. Here are the following factors that causes your water weight:

Salt

Excess sodium content in your body is the main culprit of water weight. If you have too much salt in your body, the kidney will be forced to hold the water in order to dilute the salty imbalance ratio in your body. The moment your salt/water ratio is already balance, only then the kidney will release the water in your cells and flush off the toxins in your body.

Recommendation: If you suspect that salt is the culprit in your weight stall, try to minimize cooking and flavoring your foods with salt. Use herbs and healthy spices instead!

Processed Foods

Processed foods are not only composed of chemicals, pesticides and GMO ingredients, but it is found that they have high sodium content (this includes canned and frozen foods). It is recommended not to consume these type of foods.

Recommendation: Purchase fresh foods (stay organic as possible) and vegetables. You can also make your own homemade foods like chips, crackers and pretzels rather than buying them in the supermarket. In this way you are assured that the ingredients you put in your food are clean and healthy.

These drinking beverages are dehydrating drinks that makes your body retain more water. When you are dehydrated, the salt/water ratio in your body will become unbalanced, causing your kidney to hold on your bodily fluids until the balance is restored.

Recommendation: Never drink these beverages in an attempt to rehydrate yourself. Instead, drink more water or herbal teas that don’t have caffeine content in it. If you can’t really give up drinking these beverages, balance them out by drinking more water as you take every sip.

Women’s Monthly Period

Women’s monthly cycle can also contribute to water weight. The progesterone levels in our body will fall once we have a period, since there’s no fertilization that occurs. The side effect of this phenomenon causes every cell in your body to retain the water.

Recommendation: Do your best to do your phase-specific exercises and eat a lot of fruits and veggies to even out your salt/ratio imbalance.